Monthly Archives: May 2016
CBS Renews The Odd Couple, Code Black and More
CBS has renewed four more of its shows, including The Odd Couple and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the network's aforementioned police procedural and Matthew Perry-led sitcom will both be back, as well as medical series Code Black and reality series Undercover Boss in the 2016-2017 season.
Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon in The Odd Couple. Photo credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS
Captain Marvel: White Girl Director Elizabeth Wood Rumored Contender to Helm
Marvel may be selecting a relatively new director to head up its Captain Marvel adaptation.
We Got This Covered reports that Marvel representatives recently met with indie filmmaker Elizabeth Wood. Wood only has a few credits to her name, but the most recent may have been enough to garner Marvel's interest. Her film White Girl debuted at Sundance in February and received a Grand Jury Prize nomination and a distribution deal with Netflix.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said last month that the studio would announce a director "in the next month or two," so the timing is right for the studio to be meeting with directors and finalizing its plans before the announcement. Screenwriters Meg LeFauve and Nicole Perlman's credits include Inside Out and Guardians of the Galaxy.
Margot Robbie to Star in Harley Quinn Movie
Warner Bros. is looking to expand its DC Extended Universe with a Harley Quinn spin-off film starring Margot Robbie.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Robbie will not only reprise her iconic role from Suicide Squad, but produce as well. The outlet also notes that this won't be a solo outing for Quinn, as the movie will reportedly focus on several other female DC characters as well, with Batgirl and Birds of Prey being considered.
While details are being kept under wraps and Warner Bros. has yet to comment, a female writer is said to be penning the script.
FOX Heads Give Update on More X-Files Episodes
When FOX announced their new 2016-2017 schedule, The X-Files wasn't on it. Despite creator Chris Carter recently telling IGN that the network wants more.
During a conference call today, FOX chairmen and CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman revealed that more episodes are indeed on the way, and that everyone involved wants to do more, but that figuring out the right schedules for stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson was a challenge. So the hope is that the series will return for the 2017-2018 season.
Pokemon Go Field Test Sign-Ups Now Open
Pokemon Go Field Test sign-ups are now open in the US. In a blog-post today, The Pokemon Company and Niantic announced that you can now register for the chance to go hands-on with the much-anticipated mobile game. They stress that the app is still a work-in-progress, and that not everyone who registers will be selected for the Field Test.
In terms of whether or not you'll be able to run the Field Test, the blogpost mentions that Android Version 4.3 and above is required, while an iPhone 5 with iOS 8 and above is needed for Apple users.
The developers are clearly listening to user feedback, stating, "Because the game involves numerous people playing in multiple countries at the same time, we have a lot to test before we publicly launch. This is why we are asking for your help. We would love for you to - if selected - download the field test version and play it. Your regular gameplay and feedback will help us iterate, polish and make the game launch-ready."
Powerless Trailer Description: Wonder Woman, Aquaman Mentions
At the NBC Universal Upfront presentation today, the first trailer was debuted for the upcoming DC Comics-based series Powerless, about what it’s like to be normal when superheroes exist in your life. One thing the trailer made very clear is this show will not hold back on directly referencing DC Comics characters.
NBC is currently not posting the trailer online, so read on for our description of what was shown.
The trailer begins noting "the next great hero" is on their way, and we see imagery of Batman and Superman facing each other that looks like an altered Batman v Superman promotional image.
We see main character Emily (Vanessa Hudgens) riding a train to work with other morning commuters, when a big battle involving the DC's Crimson Fox (Atlin Mitchell) causes the train to derail. Crimson Fox catches the train, but Emily, unimpressed by what's happening, looks out the window and asks the superhero, “Sorry to interrupt, could you put us back on the tracks?” while another woman yells, “My shift at Orange Julius starts at 9!”
Serkis’ Jungle Book: Origins Will Be ‘Dark and Scary’
In contrast to Disney's recently released Jungle Book adaptation, Andy Serkis' Jungle Book: Origins will provide a darker take that isn't afraid to scare kids.
"Ours is for a slightly older audience," Serkis—who both directs and stars in the film—told Vulture, noting that "it's a PG-13, more a kind of
Apes movie, a slightly darker take, closer to Rudyard Kipling's."
Serkis went on to criticize the movies of today for being overly mindful of children, saying, "It’s great to scare kids in a safe environment because it’s an important part of development, and we all loved to be scared as kids, so we shouldn’t overly protect them.... Kids are so sophisticated."
Stellaris Review
Serenity and wonder fill my ears when I first open Stellaris. Pulling from the same lived-in future aesthetic of games like Mass Effect, Stellaris opens with an invitation. It wants you to explore, it wants you learn, to unearth secrets your galaxy has held for millennia. As I do, astral outlines and nebulae dot my galactic map. Carved out into large chunks are the cosmos' remaining empires. The Kalaxenen Order. The Sibulan Core Worlds. The Bruggan Consciousness. And my own nascent superpower--the Reaper Commonwealth.
We'd coexisted with our neighbors peacefully for centuries, but we were out of space and desperate for some breathing room. Our scientists yearned to comb through the rest of the galaxy's hyperspace lanes and long-forgotten ruins. And our priests were compelled to spread the will of the divine. So the galaxy erupted in war.
War always seemed to follow me in Stellaris. That's partly because it's hard to expand indefinitely without frustrating someone, but also because there's a few hitches hiding within the layers of Paradox Interactive's latest grand strategy game.
If you've ever played Civilization or any of its 4X descendants, you'll be familiar with Stellaris' basics. You helm a new civilization at the start of its journey. You can choose how they'll govern, what their guiding principles are, and how they'll develop technologically. If you choose to play alone, each of your opponents will have a randomly generated set of traits all their own- ranging from despotic fantastical pacifists to xenophobic materialists. Human players are just as likely to come up with creative personality combinations too. When you start a match, you're dipping your toes into an ocean of possibilities, eager to yield as your people explore and grow.
That principle is reflected in Stellaris' pacing. Before locking down your starting solar system and working to build out its infrastructure, you'll scour neighboring stars for potential colony sites and resources. Then move in with settlers and engineers to start exploiting virgin territory.
Along the way, you'll find all manner of long-lost technology, pre-industrial civilizations and other space-faring races. Each often comes with a "quest" line of sorts that develops into its own narrative thread. On one of my first planets, I discovered an advanced subterranean people. I had to decide upon a diplomatic strategy for them, whether I wanted to give them access to technology, and if I'd be willing to bail them out if they ran into trouble.
It was a small piece of Stellaris, but my relationship with these people became one of my most valued. In time, they paid me back for all the favors I'd done, and supported the empire at large. But even if they hadn't, I felt connected to them. I caught myself roleplaying my interactions with them, trying to live up to my empire's own benevolent spiritual collectivist beliefs. It's this kind of ongoing, deterministic narrative scaffolding that forms Stellaris' backbone. Where most other strategy titles are content to focus on conquest and victory, Stellaris wants its relationships and the story you weave as your people grow to be the focus.
That runs straight to the core of Stellaris, too. As you encounter new species, you'll be able to integrate them as citizens in your civilization. And you'll have to balance their prejudices and ideologies against those of your own citizens, decide whether they can vote, and even help them settle new planets that might be tough or inhospitable for your own race. These dynamics can have massive effects on intergalactic politics as well. If you enslave or purge (read: genocide) another race, other civilizations will remember your sins and hold centuries-long grudges.
These dynamics start coming into play when you hit the mid-game. After you've got your basic group established, as your borders and those of your neighbors start grinding against one another, you'll have to find more creative ways to keep up the early game's strong momentum. If you're not careful, you can be boxed in by ancient and powerful civilizations. Grand strategy games often devolve into war at some point, but conflict with these giants is a quick path to eradication. Instead, it helps to build a multi-racial empire with several disconnected settlements. When one front stalls, you can push another and keep your populace moving so that there's always something to do and someone to manage. It also helps to play on a map with few other empires so you can grow a quite a bit before you start running into problems.
It's not easy, and it's a bit strange that you have to finagle the game into maintaining a solid pace, but those problems also stem from some of Stellaris' best decisions, even though they don't always work out the way they should. For example, research in Stellaris works quite a bit different than in most 4X games. There's no static tree you climb, moving from agriculture to calendars and then to crop rotation. Instead you'll receive several "cards" from a deck of possibilities. Some, like sapient artificial intelligence, are rarer than others and represent major leaps forward in tech that can also help you break away from the pack.
Others are weighted to show up more often to give everyone the same basic tools to start with. In theory, this keeps any one game from feeling too similar to any other. That works to a point, but it also means that you can pass up some critical piece of infrastructure tech and you might not see it for a while, or if you're unlucky, never again. It forces some tough decisions that, while engaging, don't always make sense. There doesn't seem to be any real reason that I have to lose out on colony ships for a better research facility. On balance, though it's a welcome change, and I got more out of it than I lost.
Technology plays into galactic diplomacy as well. Some hyper-advanced civilization may find your development pathetic and offer to bring you under their wing as a protectorate, giving you major bonuses to research and a benevolent overseer that can keep you safe from the big bullies on the block--or at least try. The catch here, is that if you develop past a certain point, you become your overlord's vassal. With that, they can, in time absorb your civilization completely. Or, you can request--and likely fight--for your independence, often at a time when their resources are spread thin with another war or even a recession.
It's here--with warfare and diplomacy--where Stellaris takes the most risks, and their payoffs can vary from match to match. Those with pacifistic civilizations might try to form strong bonds with others and form powerful peacemaking coalitions. Others will, no doubt, flex their muscles and conquer all the can. Bringing everything from psychic warriors and specially designed war ships to bear down on their foes. And while these two outlets for Stellaris' systems each work well on their own, their dependent upon so many of the game's other novelties that they don't fit together all the time.
Stellaris is strange in that it wants you to play on its terms, but within that you have amazing latitude.
The semi-random nature of research means that you won't always be able to guide your people to what they need. Plus, negotiating federations can be difficult when meeting new races depends upon you breaking out of your starting area--something that can sometimes be impossible if you're surrounded by super-hostile enemies. When it works, though, an alliance can help you leap ahead and match your elder rivals. Trade with someone who pities you can provide a massive influx of cash to fuel your economy, and, within short order you might have a diverse enough population to colonize a dozen or more extra planets. That, in turn, gives you more people to crew ships, drive research, and more complex internal politics to manage. But that's just it, it's based on chance. You can tilt things in your favor and increase the likelihood of a more exciting game, but that's never a solid guarantee.
Stellaris is strange in that it wants you to play on its terms, but within that you have amazing latitude. Its emphasis on exploration is exhilarating. It makes each run feel inviting and special. But that doesn't always hold. Some games run through to the end and hit all the right notes at all the right times. Others are best left running in the background as you crunch for better technology so you can break free of your narrow corner in the galaxy. This could be helped if you could sneak, or stealth ships through enemy territory to colonize far-flung worlds. Or, if you could have finer control of research. Or, if you could overwhelm enemy fleets with superior tactics, despite a massive technological disadvantage. Instead, you're at Stellaris' mercy. It is fortunate then, that more often than not Stellaris doesn't just work, it excels, but that makes its breaking points feel that much more agonizing because it wouldn't have taken much tweaking to smooth them out.
Out This Week: Valkyria Chronicles Remastered, Fallout 4: Far Harbor
With so many new games and movies coming out, it can be hard to keep up. Lucky for you, IGN is here to help with a weekly round-up of the biggest releases each and every week. Check out the latest releases for this week, and be sure to come back next Monday for a new update.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Daily Deals: Xbox One With $100 Worth of Free Games, $10 Off PS Plus, Quantum Break, Rayman Legends
An Xbox One with $100 Wirth of Games for Free
Here's an Xbox One with Quantum Break, Gears, Halo 5, and Rainbow Six Siege. Gears is normally included with this bundle, but you're getting $100 worth of games ($30 each for Halo and Rainbow, $40 for Quantum Break) for no additional cost.
